Key Takeaways
- Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods got engaged on Christmas Day following a Knicks win at Madison Square Garden.
- They shared the moment with a rooftop proposal and a joint Instagram post captioned “Marry Christmas.”
- Their relationship began as a friendship and deepened during the pandemic and personal loss.
Karl-Anthony Towns closed out Christmas with more than a win at Madison Square Garden. After the New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in a tight 126–124 victory, the NBA star took another major step — proposing to longtime partner Jordyn Woods.
The couple announced their engagement on Thursday (Dec. 25), sharing a joint Instagram post captioned, “Marry Christmas.” Photos showed Towns down on one knee at Overstory, a rooftop bar in New York City, with the skyline glowing behind them. Woods wore a white fuzzy coat layered over a white dress and styled her hair in a sleek ponytail, while Towns opted for a suede coat and black pants.
The engagement marks a milestone for the pair, who have been together for five years and have never shied away from sharing their journey publicly.
Although they had known each other through mutual connections, Towns and Woods’ relationship shifted in 2020, during a period that would test them both. “Me and Jordyn met years ago, knowing common people, and just became friends,” Towns explained during an episode of Woods’ Instagram series “Regular-ish.” “And ever since then, our relationship grew where we became more than friends. I’m not saying in that way, but just best friends. And then we started having a deeper relationship.”
That turning point came amid the early days of COVID-19 and the devastating loss of Towns’ mother in April 2020. “It just so happened, COVID came, and kind of brought its challenges, and it kind of forced us to either pick where our relationship was going to go as friends or something more,” he said. “And we chose the latter.”
How did Jordyn Woods honor Karl-Anthony Towns’ late mother with a birthday gift?
Just weeks before their engagement, Woods delivered a deeply personal birthday surprise that reflected the couple’s bond. For Towns’ 30th birthday, she gifted him a restored black 1990s Isuzu Trooper — the same model his late mother once drove.
“During the summer, Karl asked me if I could drive any car for a day, which one would it be… I answered, and his response was, ‘I wouldn’t pick anything crazy, I just really loved my mom’s car she had when I was a kid.’ So, I went on a mission these past months to find the car, shipped it across the country, got it fixed up, and was able to surprise him with it today for his 30th!” Woods wrote on Instagram.
The moment underscored how deeply Woods has embraced every part of Towns’ life, including the memories that continue to shape him.